PALEOLITHIC CAVES OF EUROPE INFLUENCE NEW ALBUM FROM COMPOSER CRAIG SAFAN
Perseverance Records to Release Album on July 7th
(June 5, 2015—Santa Monica, CA) The ancient caves of Southern France and Northern Spain served as the inspiration for Rough Magic, composed by Craig Safan. Perseverance Records will release the album digitally and on CD on July 7, 2015.
“For many years I have wanted to take my love of Paleolithic art and ancient myth and translate it into a musical form. Rough Magic is the final outcome,” said Safan, who was influenced by the caves he initially toured in the 1970s. “I was fascinated by some really interesting studies on music and what the music of primitive man might have been like. As a composer, everything speaks to me musically. So the concept of basing a piece of music on the cave art I’d experienced in my youth inevitably gelled.”
The first cave paintings containing art made by primitive humans were discovered in Spain in 1870 – some of which are believed to be 40,000 years old. “Studies into the origins of music suggest a correlation between the development of music and cave art in what is known as the ‘cultural explosion’ of 60,000 to 30,000 years ago. It is believed that these and other new forms of behavior and creative expression reflected the emergence of ‘intentionality’ as humans passed from instinctive behavior to intentional thought,” described Randall D. Larson in the album’s liner notes.
“Being a pictorial composer I tend to see music in visual terms - what used to be called ‘programmatic music’,” described Safan. “Each piece in Rough Magic is based on a specific scenario and in that way the work is somewhat like a ballet built on thirteen scenes. The titles allude to these stories but not in an overly detailed way, leaving much to the listener’s imagination.”
After visiting these caves with his field recorders, “I took all the sounds that I had gathered on my visit to the caves, and I took a lot of samples from other weird instruments I’ve collected over the years, plus my own huge library of sound effects, and I loaded them into computers so that I could play them on a keyboard using different music software programs,” Safan said.
But the influence of the caves didn’t stop there. Safan described, “All the reverbs used for the music was modeled using the echoes I recorded in specific caves. Voices, footsteps, breaths, rocks, handclaps, whistles, and even stalactites being struck; all were turned into the various instruments I used performing the music.”
He continued, “It’s like painting, - I’m painting with sound. The digital equipment in my studio enabled me to experiment, change, and adjust layers until I was satisfied I’d achieved what I had in mind.”
Craig Safan has composed the music for over thirty feature films including MR. WRONG, STAND AND DELIVER, MAJOR PAYNE, NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET IV, REMO WILLIAMS, and THE LAST STARFIGHTER. For the small screen, Craig is best known for his work as the composer for the series CHEERS for which he was awarded eight ASCAP Top TV awards, as well as for his music for LIFE GOES ON, which earned Safan an EMMY® nomination.
Craig is a graduate of Brandeis University and was the recipient of both the Senior Prize in Drama and the Senior Prize in Music. He was also the recipient of the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, which allowed him to independently pursue his music in London after graduation. Craig has given seminars or spoken at The American Film Institute, USC Film School, ASCAP Film Music Workshop, Berklee College of Music, The International Film Music Festival of Córdoba and UC Santa Barbara.
Safan is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, where he sits on the Music Executive Committee of the Academy. For many years he was part of the President’s Art Council at Brandeis University. Craig also serves on the Selection Committee for the Thomas J. Watson Foundation Fellowship in New York City. Craig and his wife, Linda Safan, are actively involved in Disability Rights issues and were recently awarded a Certificate of Commendation by mayor Anthony Vallaraigosa of Los Angeles as well as by County Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas for their work in founding the Circle Of Friends, a nonprofit organization that pairs disabled and non-disabled students throughout California and other states.
“As people listen to Rough Magic, I hope they let themselves go to another place,” Safan said. “A place of spirituality, a place of fear, a place of mystery. I’ve never been religious, but I’ve always been very spiritual, and fascinated by the mysteries of life. There are endless mysteries of life that we’ll never solve in our lifetime. And to me, Rough Magic is about the mystery and the sense of awe, the sense of spirituality, and how astonishing everything was to primitive humanity.”
Perseverance Records presents Craig Safan Rough Magic, available digitally and on CD on July 7, 2015.
What a strange album to release, I mean that as a positive thing. I'm not sure I own anything else like it. Almost like a score to an arthouse version of Avatar. I'm still trying to digest it.
For anyone interested in the UK, Amazon are selling it for what you'd pay on postage alone from US sellers (£10.99). Although they have it as a CD pre-order (release Aug 21) with the mp3 version oddly available right away (inc for purchasers of the CD).
The new issue of Fanfare magazine contains "Sonic Symbols and Fearful Symmetries: An Interview with Craig Safan" by Marc Medwin. The main topic, of course, is "Rough Magic," (which also gets a full page ad in the periodical).
A prominent review in Fanfare? That plus McD's description of it as "arthouse Avatar" has me pretty darn intrigued I must admit. Plus, Craig is a wonderful composer, so there's that...
Sounds very interesting. I like Craig Safan and I am very intrigued by the discovery of the cave art work. Werner Herzog's Cave of Forgotten Dreams was stunning! I just read in the latest Smithsonian that they have found even older cave paintings in Indonesia.
Yes, two reviews, actually, in addition to the interview in that issue. (They also review a chamber music CD featuring music by Herrmann, Waxman, Gershwin & Copland.)
I'm enjoying the full album on Spotify. I've been in a mood for just this kind of soundworld lately, and this has the added advantage of being much more musically interesting than most tribal/atmospheric music.
Is anyone familiar with Fanfare magazine? Can you buy the physical copy in the UK? Or would a one month digital subscription include access to the Safan issue?
As a Safan completest (he isn't interviewed often), I will endeavour to get a copy. Thanks for the heads-up.
That Fanfare Safan interview is now on his website. Interesting stuff. Have been giving the Rough Magic plenty of spins this last week or so and its a helluva grower. One of his best CDs for sure. Top five.
